Wales Office

Coronavirus: Wales

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) review, and (2) lift, restrictions on the Welsh Government’s ability to borrow (a) during, and (b) after, the COVID-19 pandemic.

baroness bloomfield of hinton waldrist: The Devolved Administrations are working closely with the UK Government to chart jointly the way through this crisis and beyond. We greatly appreciate this collaborative approach. Through the Barnett formula the Welsh Government receives a share of funding from UK government borrowing, including during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK Government therefore has no plans to review the Welsh Government’s ability to borrow.

Northern Ireland Office

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 18 March (HLWS163),what evidence of claims against veterans in Northern Ireland informedtheir proposals to addresslegacy issues in Northern Ireland.

viscount younger of leckie: It is clear that the current system for addressing Northern Ireland’s past is not working for anybody. In 2018, the UK Government public consultation, ‘Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past’, sought views on the original Stormont House Agreement proposals, and received over 17,000 responses. Careful consideration of all views provided in this consultation have informed our revised proposals for addressing legacy issues.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 18 March (HLWS163),what discussions they had with political parties in (1) Northern Ireland, and (2) the Republic of Ireland, about their proposals to address legacy issues in Northern Ireland before their announcement; and if they had no such discussions, why not.

viscount younger of leckie: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland spoke to the Irish Government and all party leaders in Northern Ireland before the Government’s Written Ministerial Statement was published on 18 March. The statement set out our high level proposals for dealing with legacy issues, and signalled the beginning of a period of engagement with the Irish Government, the Northern Ireland parties and others. We have begun the engagement process and remain committed to making progress on this important issue, whilst being sensitive to the challenging context in which we are all working.

Coronavirus: Northern Ireland

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Republic of Ireland about developing a co-ordinated all-island approach to the exit from the COVID-19 lockdown.

viscount younger of leckie: The Northern Ireland Executive is rightly leading Northern Ireland's response to the coronavirus outbreak, in line with devolution arrangements. To ensure a joined-up approach in our response, the UK Government and Irish Government are communicating at all levels. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the Tánaiste have jointly chaired a number of meetings with the First Minister and deputy First Minister, and have all agreed that continued close contact and cooperation between the UK Government, Northern Ireland Executive and Irish Government will remain essential in the weeks and months ahead.

Department for Work and Pensions

Carer's Allowance: Coronavirus

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of(1) the number of informal carers living in poverty, and (2) the adequacy of the Carer's Allowance.

baroness stedman-scott: A considerable amount of academic research has been published on the finances of carers, including from Carers UK and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Carer’s Allowance itself is designed to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. Income replacement benefits help people and households on lower incomes, and can include a carer premium, currently £37.50 a week. An equivalent additional amount applies in Pension Credit. Universal Credit also includes a carer element at the rate of £162.92 per monthly assessment period. These amounts recognise the additional contribution and responsibilities associated with caring and mean that lower-income carers can receive more money than others who receive these benefits. The rate of Carer’s Allowance was increased in early April as part of the annual uprating process. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £67.25 a week, meaning nearly an additional £700 a year for carers. The standard allowance in Universal Credit has been temporarily increased for the 20/21 tax year by £86.67 per month (equivalent to £20 per week) on top of the planned annual uprating. This additional increase means claimants will be up to £1040 better off. Carers receiving Universal Credit will benefit from this.

Treasury

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

baroness burt of solihull: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether employees who cannot practically work because they are shielding themselves in line with the current public health guidance, or because of childcare commitments, can be furloughed. [T]

lord agnew of oulton: To be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, employees must have been on their employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and HMRC must have received an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19 March 2020. Employees who cannot work due to shielding or because of childcare commitments should speak to their employer about whether they plan to place staff on furlough. The grant will start on the day they were placed on furlough, and this can be backdated to 1 March 2020.The Government recognises it is a challenge for parents to balance paid work and childcare while schools and nurseries are closed. Schools remain open for children of critical workers and the most vulnerable children, and the Government has put in place a national voucher scheme to provide free school meals for children while at home. Families who see a fall in earnings may become eligible for support through the welfare system, in particular Universal Credit (UC).For shielding employees, if a firm chooses not to furlough shielding staff, they are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay as a statutory minimum, although many employers will pay more than that in occupational sick pay.

Employment: Coronavirus

baroness drake: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish data on the number of furloughed workers by (1) sector, and (2) size of enterprise. [T]

lord agnew of oulton: Applications for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) opened on Monday 20th April. As of Thursday 23rd April HMRC had received about 512,000 claims with a total value of about £4.5bn. This is a new scheme and HMRC are currently working through the analysis they will be able to provide based on the data available. HMRC will make the timescales for publication and the types of data available in due course.